India's First Indigenous Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant Begins Its Second Sea Trials

Earlier in August, in its first sea trial, the 40,000-tonne aircraft carrier Vikrant completed its five-day maiden sea voyage.

Representational Image. (Source: Getty Images)

New Delhi: Ahead of its scheduled induction in the Indian Navy in August 2022, India's first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant on Sunday was out at the sea for its second trails.

Earlier in August, in its first sea trial, the 40,000-tonne aircraft carrier Vikrant completed its five-day maiden sea voyage. After which the Indian Navy in an issued statement said that the performance of the key systems of  Vikrant was found to be satisfactory.

"Indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant sailed out on Sunday from Kochi for the second sea trials," an official was quoted by PTI in its report.

Indigenous Aircraft Carrier #Vikrant out at sea for the second sea trials, #24Oct2021.#AatmanirbharBharat#MakeInIndia@SpokespersonMoD @cslcochin @DefenceMinIndia @shipmin_india pic.twitter.com/XdwLmoYsqF

— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) October 24, 2021

The total expenditure for building the warship INS Vikrant was around ₹23,000 crore. Building INS Vikrant particularly propelled India into the list of nations capable enough to build state-of-the-art warships.

INS Vikrant is about 262 meters long i.e. bigger than two football grounds. The width of INS Vikrant is about 62 meters and the height is 50 meters.

About 30 fighter jets and helicopters will be deployed on India's indigenous aircraft carrier. These 30 aircraft will have 20 fighter planes and 10 helicopters. Of these 20 fighter jets, 12 will be 'MiG-29K' fighter jets sourced from Russia, which is known as Black Panther.

Apart from 'MiG-29K', 08 will be India's indigenous 'LCA-Navy' aircraft or its own two-engine version ie TEDBF (Two-Engine Deck Best Fighter). However, TEDBF may still take a long time to form. Both these aircraft are currently being made by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

(With inputs from Agencies)